NBA Rumors: Warriors Splash Brothers Curry and Thompson can take 'Any Shots They Want', Says Kerr
MVP repeater Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are arguably one of the most fascinating sharpshooting machines of today's NBA. But in Games 1 & 2 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the so-called Splash Brothers are slightly taking the backseat with less fury seen in previous playoff and regular season games. Interestingly, the first two games in the title run saw points distributed quite evenly among the Warriors.
To get both of them all fired up for the games to come in remainder of the Finals, Golden State coach Steve Kerr has formula for them: shoot all they want.
"Those guys are allowed to take any shots they want. That's the rule. Steph and Klay are, nobody else is. I trust their judgment," said the Coach of the Year awardee as quoted by USA Today.
The latest update on the finals saw LeBron James-led Cavs suffering a humiliating Game 2 defeat at the hands of the Curry-led Warriors with 110-77 victory. The heavy loss marked the first time since 2007 when Cavs got swept away by San Antonio Spurs on the way to the championship title. But their recent defeat broke James' winning streak of nine consecutive Game 2 victories in the finals as Golden State set the tone with 2-0 lead over Cleveland.
On the floor, the Warriors went off with an electric offense and uber-fast gameplay. The 33-point lead was too much to handle with points streaming.
"They just beat us at every ... we didn't win anything," said James in the post-game conference as quoted by the Guardian. "No points of the game did we beat them in anything. Even when we had an early lead, they beat us to 50-50 balls, they got extra possessions, and they got extra tip-ins. They beat us pretty good tonight."
The top scorers of the game from Warriors' side include center Draymond Green with 28 points, Curry 18, and Klay Thompson 17. If Golden State's 2-0 lead is of any indication, some analysts see better odds tilting to the Warriors' favor. As per NBA stats, 28 out of the 31 teams who lead the finals 2-0 went on to nab the championship. For the defending champions, a title repeat would catapult them to greater heights after breaking Michael Jordan-led 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 72-win record.
In addition, Cleveland is likely to get in trouble after Kevin Love exited the game in the third quarter due to a concussion. His condition puts his status in 'serious doubt.' In the Cavs' side, James scored team-best 19 points. As per ABC News, the demoralizing second game loss marked their seventh consecutive defeat to the Warriors and James' first-ever string of losses to the same hardcourt opponent.
